"A peculiar anthologic maze, an amusing literary chaos, a farrago of quotations, a mere olla podrida of quaintness, a pot pourri of pleasant delites, a florilegium of elegant extracts, a tangled fardel of old-world flowers of thought, a faggot of odd fancies, quips, facetiae, loosely tied" (Holbrook Jackson, Anatomy of Bibliomania) by a "laudator temporis acti," a "praiser of time past" (Horace, Ars Poetica 173).

Sunday, September 07, 2008

More Triple Correlative Conjunctions

After speculating that no one else would be interested in triple correlative conjunctions in ancient Greek, I received two emails on the subject. One email was from Dr. James K. Aitken (Cambridge University), who contributed an example from the Septuagint version of Proverbs 1:2-3:

The other email was from Professor David Whitehead (Queen's University Belfast), who pointed out to my embarrassment that:

In fact Denniston does note this phenomenon (Particles pp.504-5). After commenting in general terms that it is rare in Plato and more common in Xenophon than other historians, he quotes examples as follows [I have not verified them]:

The richest soils were always most subject to this change of masters; such as the district now called Thessaly, Boeotia, most of the Peloponnese, Arcadia excepted, and the most fertile parts of the rest of Hellas.

Because whenever the mind conceives of any of these as belonging to the masses, another beginning appears before the beginning, another end remains after the end, and in the middle are other more central middles than the middle, but smaller, because it is impossible to conceive of each one of them, since the one does not exist.

And again, what would you have done, if you heard that chariots are coming which are not, as before, to stand still facing back as if for flight, but that the horses harnessed to the chariots are covered with mail, while the drivers stand in wooden towers and the parts of their body not defended by the towers are completely panoplied in breast-plates and helmets; and that scythes of steel have been fitted to the axles, and that it is the intention to drive these also into the ranks of the enemy?

My father, finding that these people had been accredited by Conon, and were of proved respectability andat that time at leastin the good graces of the city, was persuaded to bestow her: he did not know the slander that was to follow.

For we see that those who are permanently ruled by kings have the greatest powers; that those who live in well-conducted oligarchies, when it comes to matters about which they are most concerned, appoint one man, in some cases a general, in others a king, to have full powers over their armies in the field; and that those who abhor absolute rule, whenever they send out many leaders, fail to accomplish a single one of their designs.

And, finally, they began war upon the Phocians, expecting that in a short time they would conquer their cities, occupy all the surrounding territory, and prevail over all the treasures at Delphi by the outlay of their own funds.

He and his son Philoctemon possess so large a fortune that both of them were able to undertake the most costly public offices without ealizing any of their capital, and at the same time to save out of their income, so that they continually grew richer.

He well knew what had been my behavior towards my father and mother, my care for my relatives and my capacity for managing my own affairs. He was well aware that in my official capacity as thesmothete I have been neither unjust nor rapacious.

Yet, if it be shown that he made these admissions before Demochares and the others who were present; that he received from Demophon and Therippides the money accruing from the sale of the slaves in part settlement of the marriage portion; that he gave to his co-trustees a written acknowledgement that he had received the portion; and that he occupied the house immediately after the death of my father; will it not be clearthe matter being admitted by everybodythat he has received the portion, the eighty minae, and that his denial of having received it is a piece of shameless impudence?